Under the command of the captain, the cruiser "Herta" rushed at full speed in the direction of the ironclad ship "Ocean". Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Witnessing the feat of the cruiser "Herta", the Prussian cruiser "Elisa Peter" and the gunboat "Berlin" anchored behind the "Herta" were inspired to follow the "Herta" from the rear.

The "Ocean", "Marengo", "Goroas" and "Sulfrant" immediately adjusted the fire of the bombardment of the "Könitz William" to the attacking Prussian warships, especially the leading cruiser "Herta".

In the fierce artillery battle at close range, the shooting star-like shells fired by the French warships smashed the gun decks of the Prussian warships to the ground. Although there were always those brave and fearless soldiers who fought hard against the enemy in the rain of bullets, they were powerless to fight back in the face of overwhelming artillery attacks from the enemy.

The cruiser "Herta," which had been smashed into a sea of fire and corpses resting on its corpses, stubbornly headed toward the "ocean" when suddenly an ominous explosion sounded from the middle of the "Herta" hull and exploded near the engine room of the "Herta," and the violent explosion completely destroyed the engine room.

Not far from the "Ocean", "Herta" lost its ability to sail. The ensuing scene is hard for people to imagine, the French warship destroyed the warship with almost 100 rounds of artillery fire at close range, the ammunition compartment of the cruiser "Herta" exploded, the hull tilted, the deck was deadly silent, and only the Black Eagle flag on the top of the mast was still fluttering sadly. Soon, a French steam sampan approached the "Herta", which was on fire everywhere, and the French Navy captain Donette and the sailors climbed the bulwark of the "Herta", and then went up the rope ladder to the top of the mast, tore off the Black Eagle flag, and raised a tricolor flag.

"The damn ship (referring to the Herta') was so badly burned that it couldn't get past it, and it was smoking, and we were so engulfed in smoke that we choked and coughed...... However, there was a time when we finally got on board. Oh! God, what a scene that was! Truly, at this very moment, despite their despicable behavior, I felt sorry for these poor Prussians...... The deck was littered with their corpses, some of them were blown to pieces by artillery fire, some were scorched by the fire, and some were scalded by the steam from the boiler rupture......" (letter from the sailors of the "Ocean")

The French ships fought the Battle of the Port of Kiel almost instantaneously, and the tactics adopted by each other were also their own battles. As a result, many of the local engagements in the Battle of Kiel appeared to be complicated, but in fact they all took place at the same time in a short period of time.

When the Prussian Navy's "Könis-Wilhelm," "Herta," and "Elisa Peter" and other upstream warships were attacked by French ships, the three Prussian warships that were holding the downstream were also caught in a vicious battle situation in the coastal direction on the opposite shore.

The gunboats "Essen" and "Bremen", recalled from the mouth of the Elbe before the war, and the gunboat "Hamburg", recalled from the Baltic coast, have been moored near the coastal batteries as water batteries since they arrived at the port of Kiel. As soon as the French warships entered Kiel, the three gunboats were left in a disadvantageous position of being alone behind enemy lines. At this moment, they are facing an opponent who is far more powerful than them.

"Essen" and "Bremen" belonged to the same old Prussian gunboats, with a displacement of 734 tons, and the firepower that each ship could use in single-port operations included 2 152 mm guns and 3 102 mm guns. The "Hamburg" is the smallest of the three warships, which is an improved version of the old gunboat, with a displacement of 692 tons, and the firepower that can be obtained when fighting on the port includes 1 152 mm gun and 3 102 mm guns. In total, the three Prussian warships were able to use a total of 5 152 mm guns and 9 102 mm guns when fighting on a single port.

In a state of side-by-side confrontation with the three Prussian gunboats, three French cruisers. With a displacement of 1,422 tons, the "Embernaper", "Refuss" and "Burlotoktis", a total of three French warships, could use 12 190 mm breech guns and 14 140 mm breech guns. Comparing the two, in terms of the caliber, quantity, and advanced degree of artillery, Prussian warships were simply inferior to their opponents. In such a disparity of firepower, the two sides engaged in close-range artillery fire, and the outcome can be imagined, and what is even more unfavorable is that this kind of artillery duel still begins with the other side having the initiative, which means that the Prussian warship may not have time to make any resistance, and will be sunk in the first round of artillery fire of the French ship.

When the order for the artillery battle began on the ironclad ship "Ocean", three French cruisers, including the "Embernep", which had long been gearing up, immediately fired a salvo at the Prussian warship with their broadside guns. In the face of a surprise attack, the two gunboats "Essen" and "Hamburg" had not had time to cut the anchor chain and sail upstream to rendezvous with the main force of the "Cornish Wilhelm" according to the predetermined battle plan. The "Essen" was sunk in the first salvo of the French cruiser, and after the sister ship "Bremen" withstood the first round of shelling, the hull was so badly damaged that the captain ordered the ship to cut the anchor chain and retreat downstream, and finally burned near the side of the channel.

In an instant, only one weak gunboat "Hamburg" remained in the Prussian naval array in the downstream direction, which was still struggling to support. Because the anchor chain of the small warship was thin and it was easier to cut off, the "Hamburg" had already been freed from the shackles of the iron anchor when the French ship fired a salvo, and the officers and men on the ship insisted on fighting. At this moment, there were thunderous cheers from the three French warships that were bombarding frantically, and the smoke gradually dissipated, and a larger French warship appeared. The ironclad ship "Sylfrant", commanded by Captain Murray, came to the battlefield downstream. Because the fighting in the upper reaches had basically ended, Gu Ba ordered this ironclad ship to support the weaker downstream French ships.

"Sulfrant" is a standard ironclad ship with a displacement of 6220 tons and a waterline armor 5.7 inches thick. Armed with 8 240-mm guns, 4 190-mm guns, 8 140-mm guns. The purpose of Guba's request for this ironclad ship to support the downstream was originally to use large-caliber naval guns against the Prussian batteries along the coast, not only to prevent the Prussian shore batteries from firing artillery support during water operations, but also to worry that after the completion of the Battle of Kiel, the French warships would be blocked by Prussian artillery from the shore when they withdrew. Now, the "Sylfrant", which had joined the battle formation, was shelling the Prussian Army barracks on the shore and attacking the "Hamburg" with its powerful 240-mm guns. "The ship first hit the Prussian army on the shore with a cannon base, the sand scattered, the defenders were invincible, and then attacked the gunboat 'Hamburg', and its bullets swept past the stern of the ship and fell into the water, which was quite violent." ("Lin Yizhe's Diary")

The "Bremen," which was already overwhelmed, was attacked again like Mount Tai pressing on the top, and a large number of sailors on board the ship fled with their sampans, and some deserters who could not get on the sampan even jumped directly into the river. Under the bombardment of the French ship's gunfire, most of the officers and men who insisted on fighting on the ship were martyred, the captain of the ship, Rutter, and the first mate Lynn were shot and killed, "the corpses flew to pieces", and the gunboat "Hamburg" had also suffered heavy damage, "the hull of the ship was bombed innumerably, like a beehive, the hull was crooked, and it was about to drown" ("Lin Yizhe's Diary"). However, at this moment, under the command of an unknown officer, the "Hamburg" suddenly changed its position and aimed directly at the side of the French cruiser "Refuss".

The hull was badly rolled, and the "Hamburg", which was sailing with a blazing flame, intended to die with the French ship, and was unfortunately sunk by a volley of gunfire from the "Refuss". To the great shock of the nearby neutral warships, and even the French warships present, when the gunboat "Hamburg" was about to submerge into the water, a cloud of fire suddenly rose from the front main gun, and a Black Eagle flag was raised on the top of the mast......

"The men on board tried their best to get out of danger, but they had no choice but to watch the merciless grenades scatter death among them. But some of them show beautiful examples of bravery and heroism. On one of the gunboats, three-quarters of the hull was on fire and about to sink into the river, when the Prussian Black Eagle flag was suddenly raised, and another gunner delivered the last shot to our battleship. ”

So far, all three Prussian warships downstream have been sunk.

After learning that the threat downstream was cleared, Guba felt that it was time for a full victory.

At this time, there were only two Prussian warships left on the water, namely the cruiser "Elisa Peter" and the gunboat "Berlin", the "Elisa Peter" was the same ship as the "Herta", and the "Berlin" was an old gunboat ordered from Germany to Britain in 1860, with a displacement of 756 tons and three 102 mm guns. The guns are fired very slowly, and the warships of this class have been in service for nearly 10 years at this time, and their speed has been greatly reduced, and the speed is now only 8 knots.

The two ships were ready to follow the "Herta" to attack the French ship array, but the "Berlin" could not keep up because of its slow speed, and in the end it could not directly support the "Herta" and "Elisa Peter", so they could only fire from a distance with their main guns. After the "Herta" lost its combat effectiveness, the "Elisa Peter" again withstood the fire of the French warships on its own. Under the fierce attack of the French warships, the "Elisa Peter" was damaged, all the guns were destroyed, the crew was killed and wounded, and even the steam engine was in trouble, and finally capsized in a violent explosion.

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